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[Mythoclast]

I'll begin this by saying that I own all consoles, so there's no fanboyism or even brand loyalty to a particular company. I go with whatever is the best value prop at the time.

It's sometimes disappointing to see Microsoft keep trying to push a variety of games in different genres beyond the typical FPS or over-the-shoulder action adventure (e.g. Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Flight Simulator,...) only to be critically successful but commercially a flop. Say what you wanna say about the war chest or fear of industry consolidation, but Microsoft gives their studios at least SOME creative freedom and they try to fill up GamePass with a variety of experiences.

Sony, on the other hand, seems to have found what works best for them commercially and they don't seem very eager to move beyond these "cinematic", Michael Bay-ish, overly emotional games like TLOU. Not only that but at least TLOU was born like such a game. Now God of War, Final Fantasy, and arguably Spider-Man have been transformed into these cinematic third party action adventures. The "movie-game" meme is real. That said, I have played all of those Sony exclusives and they are great. There's a reason why they appeal to people and sell so much. But I feel that that's money at the cost of progress, curiosity and innovation of the industry.

Microsoft is a behemoth company, it's not that they're struggling. But they do have a much lower market share when compared to Sony in the gaming industry worldwide. I just hope Sony doesn't rest on their laurels and can start going beyond these kinds of games.

 

[64bitmodels]

no, just manage studios better & put complete games out on time. Nintendo doesn't have "cinematic" third person action adventure games and they're doing peachy. Advertise them more, too. bring up more buzz instead of leaving people on mute for certain games like hellblade 2 or avowed

we really don't need another Sony in terms of game catalogue.

 

[Elder Legend]

I'll begin this by saying that I own all consoles, so there's no fanboyism or even brand loyalty to a particular company. I go with whatever is the best value prop at the time.

It's sometimes disappointing to see Microsoft keep trying to push a variety of games in different genres beyond the typical FPS or over-the-shoulder action adventure (e.g. Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Flight Simulator,...) only to be critically successful but commercially a flop. Say what you wanna say about the war chest or fear of industry consolidation, but Microsoft gives their studios at least SOME creative freedom and they try to fill up GamePass with a variety of experiences.

Sony, on the other hand, seems to have found what works best for them commercially and they don't seem very eager to move beyond these "cinematic", Michael Bay-ish, overly emotional games like TLOU. Not only that but at least TLOU was born like such a game. Now God of War, Final Fantasy, and arguably Spider-Man have been transformed into these cinematic third party action adventures. The "movie-game" meme is real. That said, I have played all of those Sony exclusives and they are great. There's a reason why they appeal to people and sell so much. But I feel that that's money at the cost of progress, curiosity and innovation of the industry.

Microsoft is a behemoth company, it's not that they're struggling. But they do have a much lower market share when compared to Sony in the gaming industry worldwide. I just hope Sony doesn't rest on their laurels and can start going beyond these kinds of games.

MS is mostly known for WRPGs and FPS games and their studio acquisitions prove it. You don't HAVE to have 3rd person cinematic games to succeed. You just need to have good games period. This excuse is fucking dumb and silly.

Sony is now going towards GAAS because these single player cinematic 3rd person titles are not enough anymore and too expensive to sustain. Microsoft is already ahead in this regard, they have a far wider and more diverse portfolio coming up.

Also, if i am being quite frank - Hellblade 2 is looking like mighty trash right now. Have 0 interest in that game. Anytime they show it, it's worse and worse.

 

[Maxwell Jacob Friedman]

Ita not about embracing them, they just dont have the talent to make a quality one.

 

[Punished Miku]

Please no. Seriously.

At the very most, 2 series like this is all I could handle. Ninja Theory and maybe the Initiative. Everyone else I want doing completely different stuff. I feel like we get more than enough of these games just from Sony alone. Crystal Dynamics is likely doing more stuff similar to this as well. Asobo is also good at these. I feel we have a lot already.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Fuck no.

 

[64bitmodels]

Like how fucking embarassing would it be if all of Xbox's lineup were just God of War/TLOU/Uncharted ripoffs?

We actually don't need that shit.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Open world is 2x more valuable than cinematic.

 

[ByWatterson]

Yes, absolutely.

Sony isn't leaving service games to Microsoft. Microsoft shouldn't let Sony just have this space.

 

[Fbh]

I mean they do have upcoming stuff like Hellblade that seems like it will scratch that story heavy cinematic itch, maybe that Indiana Jones game too.
But I like the variety in their lineup and I hope they keep it that way (they just need to release games more consistently).

Also I wouldn't call stuff like Hi Fi Rush and flight simulator flops. The thing with Microsoft is that since they are releasing everything day 1 on Gamepass game sales just aren't a reliable metric anymore.

 

[Killer8]

They should lean into RPGs more. They own Bethesda, Obsidian, inXile and the Playground studio making Fable, so it makes sense. The success this year of Baldur's Gate 3 shows that if you build a good RPG, the audience will come. In fact, Microsoft should be cracking the whip a bit more and giving some of these studios less freedom. I have no idea why inXile are straying from their excellent Wasteland roots to make a terrible looking BioShock Infinite rip-off. And Obsidian have arguably wasted a lot of time on some quite mid games when they could've been making the thing people actually want - Fallout: New Vegas 2.

 

[64bitmodels]

Microsoft should be cracking the whip a bit more and giving some of these studios less freedom. I have no idea why inXile are straying from their excellent Wasteland roots to make a terrible looking BioShock Infinite rip-off.

the last time microsoft forced one of their studios to make something they didnt want to make, they ended up losing one of their most valuable studios to Sony. yeah no thanks

 

[DeepEnigma]

Hellblade 2 am cry

 

[Codes 208]

Fuck no. I dont even take sony’s seriously and thats their gimmick

 

[Punished Miku]

Hellblade 2 am cry

Feels like a slog already ... ugh. I couldnt make it through the 1st one.

 

[64bitmodels]

And Obsidian have arguably wasted a lot of time on some quite mid games when they could've been making the thing people actually want - Fallout: New Vegas 2.

also if their current projects are 'mid' what makes you think they'd do a sequel to new vegas justice?

 

[Punished Miku]

They should lean into RPGs more. They own Bethesda, Obsidian, inXile and the Playground studio making Fable, so it makes sense. The success this year of Baldur's Gate 3 shows that if you build a good RPG, the audience will come. In fact, Microsoft should be cracking the whip a bit more and giving some of these studios less freedom. I have no idea why inXile are straying from their excellent Wasteland roots to make a terrible looking BioShock Infinite rip-off. And Obsidian have arguably wasted a lot of time on some quite mid games when they could've been making the thing people actually want - Fallout: New Vegas 2.

They are smart to make new things, not more sequels.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

I mean I wouldn't mind seeing them make one, especially if/when the ActiBlizz acquisition goes through, would be cool to see something using one of the Blizzard IPs.

I disagree with the disappointment around MS creating a variety of games though. I think it's very welcome.

 

[gothmog]

They should make whatever they want. The important part is ensuring the games are ready for release. Their recent track record hasn't been good at all. I'm hoping Starfield will start to buck that trend.

 

[Stardust_Dragon]

Maybe I'm misremembering here, but wasn't Colt Eastwood the guy who said he'd rather spend hundreds of hours playing Crackdown 3 than God of War a few years ago? Anyways, I don't think Microsoft needs to 'embrace' cinematic single player games, just 1 or 2 of those type of games should be enough for them, what they do need to do though in my opinion is figure out how to get the Halo franchise (and Gears to a lesser extent) back on track, and try to see if they can get World of Warcraft an exclusive console port for Xbox since Blizzard was never going to do so on their own, and I think faith in the Xbox brand would be restored, at least in the U.S. and U.K. and they would see sales pick back up and market share be more competitive in those two regions if they can figure out what to do with those 3 franchises.

 

[ManaByte]

would be cool to see something using one of the Blizzard IPs.

Time for a StarCraft: Ghost UE5 remake.

 

[Mythoclast]

I mean I wouldn't mind seeing them make one, especially if/when the ActiBlizz acquisition goes through, would be cool to see something using one of the Blizzard IPs.

I disagree with the disappointment around MS creating a variety of games though. I think it's very welcome.

It's not a disappointment about MS making such games, it's about them not being received accordingly in sales and therefore decreasing the probability of MS making such games again.

 

[Black_Stride]

Hopefully NOT.

Keep giving me dem RPGs and other genres ill actually play for 100s of hours.
I can wait for Sony to port their 15 - 20 hour games to PC whenever.

No need for everyone to copy everyone, if Sony starts releasing a bunch of MS IP clones ill be sad, if MS starts releasing Sony IP clones ill be sad.
I didnt build this PC to keep playing the same games over and over, let Sony do what Sony do, let MS do what MS do.



P.S Clockwork Revolution is one of my most anticipated games right now, its touted as an Action Adeventure game....does that count as being "cinematic"?

 

[Ginzeen]

Lmao

 

[ReBurn]

Why? When you look at the most recent sales charts threads those don't seem to be what people are buying the most of.

 

[Black_Stride]

the last time microsoft forced one of their studios to make something they didnt want to make, they ended up losing one of their most valuable studios to Sony. yeah no thanks

Its also exactly what killed Fasa Studio.

Imagine if MS just gave them more leeway we would probably have more Mech Assault games and more Crimson Skies games on Xbox right now.

 

[damidu]

by the looks of it they are trying it hard with hellblade2 (probably to the point of messing it up)
they'll probably have an uncharted clone with the new indy game too.
should be good enough for now.

 

[64bitmodels]

Its also exactly what killed Fasa Studio.

Imagine if MS just gave them more leeway we would probably have more Mech Assault games and more Crimson Skies games on Xbox right now.

yep. they should just crack the whip when it comes to deadlines and management. Analyze the games, bring in fans of the studio as focus testers

if they say it can be improved upon improve it. if they say it's outright bad cancel it. ez game strategy instant win 100m units sold

 

[64bitmodels]

They have great gameplay, great story, great music, great marketing, great everything,

 

[bender]

Its also exactly what killed Fasa Studio.

Imagine if MS just gave them more leeway we would probably have more Mech Assault games and more Crimson Skies games on Xbox right now.

Eww. MechAssault was trash. It's a crying shame what happened to MechWarrior and MechCommander.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Why not? Variety is great.
Sony should embrace multiplayer as well.

 

[Hendrick's]

If you mean should that be the primary focus like PlayStation, then hell no. They do have several games of this genre in development however.

 

[Black_Stride]

Eww. MechAssault was trash.

Anything under a 9 outta 10 is trash.
The vast vast vast majority of games are trash.

I love trash.

 

[bender]

Anything under a 9 outta 10 is trash.
The vast vast vast majority of games are trash.

I love trash.

Who brought up critical reception? Dumb take.

 

[Black_Stride]

Who brought up critical reception? Dumb take.

Who brought up critical reception? Dumb take.

 

[Yoboman]

They should just make good single player games, they don't have to be third person or cinematic. Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate aren't necessarily cinematic but are beloved

Sony's games are cinematic as a byproduct of the expertise they've built up in motion capture, animation etc. and that their Devs like single player. It's very hard to just replicate that expertise

Starfield is a good start but before that MS hadn't made or commissioned a single player focused game in how long? Maybe Ori, before that Mass Effect?

With their acquisitions they can change that so let's hope they don't Redfall too many devs

 

[64bitmodels]

MS hadn't made or commissioned a single player focused game in how long?

Hi-Fi Rush. before Hi-Fi Pentiment. before that, Psychonauts and ori.

so not that long ago. It's just that games like those aren't as marketable as big budget IP.

 

[Danjin44]

I said this many time they should do what they are good at, same way Nintendo does. I also gaming industry would be boring every one try to do "cinematic" games.....I honestly I'm already getting sick of them.

 

[bitbydeath]

They already have Gears of War, that studio is talented enough to go into more 3rd person games.

 

[Black_Stride]

Starfield is a good start but before that MS hadn't made or commissioned a single player focused game in how long? Maybe Ori, before that Mass Effect?

Gears but mostly Hivebusters.
Pentiment.
Super Luckys Tale.
Dead Rising.
ReCore.
State of Decay 2.
Quantum Break.
Sunset Overdrive.
Ryze.
Tell Me Why.


Im sure im missing something.
They really have done a bunch of genre hopping.

 

[GHG]

They would if they could.

But as it stands they simply don't have the capacity. To pull it all together from a production perspective it requires a collective effort from a number of disciplines not typically seen in the gaming industry. Sony have the benefit of being able to lean on their other business areas for expertise here, Microsoft simply don't have that.

I would say they should stick to what they are good at, bit I'm not even sure what that is anymore.

 

[Sanepar]

They don't want to invest on pure narrative sp AAA games. Their audience looks to prefer anything with coop, gaas and mp elements and for gamepass model sp only high budget games don't fit.

 

[In Cold Blood]

I don't think it's an issue of Microsoft not wanting to "embrace" those types of games, it's just where they are with the studios they have.

They have studios that make those types of games like Ninja Theory, but the majority of their studios are doing WRPGs and shooting games.

Should Sony just embrace making WRPGs? Well, they don't have the studios to do it at this point. I'm sure they would want more of them, and most likely will address that by maybe buying some RPG studios. Maybe Sony is wanting to have a point of difference in their catalogue? More third person action games, and more JRPGs.
Who knows really.

 

[Pelta88]

Embrace something which, in their own internal review, XBOX already admitted they don't have the capability or talent to do?

 

[Beechos]

Gears kinda fits this category and possibly the upcoming hellblade 2.

 

[Clintizzle]

Creative or Cinematic is not something people would describe Microsoft as being capable of. If Apple are serious about gaming, they might do a good job of it.

 

[Syphon Filter]

No, I want to play games not movies.

 

[ManaByte]

It took me nearly a year to get through Ragnarok because all the slow walking and talking segments were BORING. Less of that, thanks.

 

[Darkness_Arises]

I'll begin this by saying that I own all consoles, so there's no fanboyism or even brand loyalty to a particular company. I go with whatever is the best value prop at the time.

It's sometimes disappointing to see Microsoft keep trying to push a variety of games in different genres beyond the typical FPS or over-the-shoulder action adventure (e.g. Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Flight Simulator,...) only to be critically successful but commercially a flop. Say what you wanna say about the war chest or fear of industry consolidation, but Microsoft gives their studios at least SOME creative freedom and they try to fill up GamePass with a variety of experiences.

Sony, on the other hand, seems to have found what works best for them commercially and they don't seem very eager to move beyond these "cinematic", Michael Bay-ish, overly emotional games like TLOU. Not only that but at least TLOU was born like such a game. Now God of War, Final Fantasy, and arguably Spider-Man have been transformed into these cinematic third party action adventures. The "movie-game" meme is real. That said, I have played all of those Sony exclusives and they are great. There's a reason why they appeal to people and sell so much. But I feel that that's money at the cost of progress, curiosity and innovation of the industry.

Microsoft is a behemoth company, it's not that they're struggling. But they do have a much lower market share when compared to Sony in the gaming industry worldwide. I just hope Sony doesn't rest on their laurels and can start going beyond these kinds of games.

Do we need first party war chest to make games like Grounded, Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush? There are already a lot of zany, whacky indie games with significant production values and novel gameplay systems on par with these games (not the same or similar but satisfying the need for gameplay innovation to the same extent.). The reason why these games do not push the needle for someone like me, who was on the fence about getting the series s is that I am already getting my fill of innovation from indies. What I want from first party games is insane production values and a world I can get immersed in, eg. a Banjo and Kazooie game with the same production values as R&C Rift Apart.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

For a game or two, sure.

As the overwhelming majority of their output, oh fuck no.